Tina Willis presented her poem "Sagebrush and Cedars" at Pioneer Association meeting during Wyoming State Fair in Douglas

When Tina Willis read her poem “Sagebrush and Cedars” last Thursday at the state fair in Douglas, she was happy to be with her friends in the Wyoming Pioneer Association. In fact, she was happy to be anywhere.  In 2003, Willis slipped into a coma caused by West Nile Virus. When she awoke, she was paralyzed on one side. The doctors diagnosed her with meningitis, encephalitis and West Nile Virus-induced polio. It took the Wheatland rancher years before she could walk again and to write her poetry, which is her passion.

“It was an amazing day,” she said, referring to the Aug. 16 event at the Pioneer Museum. “Amazing that I was able to write the poem and walk forward and read it.”

The Pioneer Association is a Friends-type organization for the Pioneer Museum, according to Division of State Parks and Cultural Resources Director Milward Simpson. It is the only historic site in the state that is a fully functioning museum. The association gathered at the museum Aug. 16 to mark the fair's 100th anniversary.

Willis is a past recipient of a Blanchan/Doubleday writing award from the Wyoming Arts Council. The WAC is pleased to reprint her poem here on the blog:

SAGEBRUSH AND CEDARS

Tina Willis ©April 26, 2012

The ancients were chief, natives born first in this west
Miners, trappers and cowboys stood tall to the test
The wagons and railroads joined the rush of progress
All knew the promise:  Wyoming… best of the best

Could these pioneers survive here and thrive here unafraid?
In the sagebrush and cedars?  Mountains of granite and jade?
Yes, they carved out their homesteads. ..Here they suffered and prayed
They seized her wild spirit…they were gritty and stayed

They laid claim to the landscape and made it their own
They fought drought, cold and lonesome with resolve turned to stone
They loved the red Russell sunsets and the spring grass cologne
They found faith while they pursued solace and courage …often alone 

They laid rail lines and dug gold mines in high aspen stands
They plowed and raised livestock with strong weathered hands
Snow melt filled their dikes where the Canada goose lands
And it was pioneer families who said the Tetons were grand

The pioneers learned to live on hopes, try and will
Working each day with Mother Nature until
They knew every song of the meadow lark’s trill
And rested by the streams in the quiet evening still

They spent days waiting for rain, worked for no pay or wage
Independence and courage were born here in the sage
They wrote history each night on an oil lamp-lit page
Their children’s children grew up strong on her range

The pioneers held the promise to become part of this west
And Wyoming kept her promise ….She’s still the best of best

Mystery novelist Robert Greer of Wheatland hits the road April 14 with new novel

North Atlantic Books, publisher of Robert Greer's new novel, "Astride a Pink Horse," sends this info on the Wheatland's author's tour schedule: 

Publication date: March 27, 2012; North Atlantic Books, distributed by Random House; Hardcover; ISBN: 978-1-58394-369-4 (1-58394-369-2); $23.95/$26.95 CAN; 6 x 9; 376 pages).

Group author signing

Saturday, April 14th from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Whistle-Stop Mercantile ~ Books, Espresso & Deli
200 S. 3rd Street
Douglas, WY 82633
(307) 358-3663

Author talk and signing
Friday, April 20th from 4-6 p.m.
The Thistle
1243 Rumsey Ave.
Cody, WY 82414
(307) 587-6635

Reading and/or signing (TBD)
Saturday, April 21st from 1-3 p.m.
Sheridan Stationery, Books, & Gallery
206 North Main St.
Sheridan, WY 82801
(307) 674-8080

Signing
Saturday, April 28th from 1-4 p.m.
The Storyteller
528 Broadway
Thermopolis, WY 82443
(307) 864-3272

"New West Art at the Hynds" opens tonight

Western Writers of America select Nancy Curtis of High Plains Press for 2012 Lariat Award

Candy Moulton shared this info today on Facebook:

The Western Writers of America (WWA) Board of Directors met last weekend in Albuquerque. A number of actions were taken including this one: The 2012 recipient of the Lariat Award, given to a publishing industry professional for outstanding support of WWA and Literature of the West, is High Plains Press publisher Nancy Curtis of Glendo, Wyoming. Congratulations Nancy! WWA will recognize High Plains and Nancy during the Convention June 12-16 at the Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque.

Gov. Hathaway statue to be unveiled Friday

A workman applies finishing touches to the pedestal that supports a new sculpture (covered by tarp) of former Wyoming Gov. Stan Hathaway by Wheatland artist Carl Jensen. Dedication of the statue is set for Friday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m., and will be attended by Gov. Matt Mead. The statue was a gift to the state of Wyoming accepted by the Capitol Commission and the State Building Commission. It is not part of the Wyoming Art in Public Buildings program.

Author Ron Franscell on the road again in Wyoming

Ron Franscell's Wyoming schedule (welcome home Ron!):


OCT. 6, WHEATLAND: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 5 pm at Wheatland Mercantile's Book Nook. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 7, CASPER: Hometown launch for SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES Discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Natrona County Public Library. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 8, BUFFALO: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES Discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Johnson County Public Library. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 10, LARAMIE: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 3 pm at University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 11, ROCK SPRINGS: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Rock Springs Library. Event is free and open to the public.

Get more info on Ron's books and touring schedule at http://www.ronfranscell.com

Murder at a deactivated Wyoming missile silo at center of Robert Greer's new novel

Wheatland’s Robert Greer has a new book coming out in March 2012:

ASTRIDE A PINK HORSE
North Atlantic Books
Hardcover: March 27, 2012, ISBN-13: 978-1583943694

The Cold War ended years ago, or did it? For Thurmond Giles, a decorated African American Air Force veteran found dead, naked, and dangling by his ankles inside an entry tube to a deactivated minuteman missile silo in desolate southeastern Wyoming, the answer is no. The labyrinthine investigation that follows, led by Air Force fighter pilot Major Bernadette Cameron and ex-college baseball phenom-turned-reporter Elgin "Cozy" Coseia, reveals how the atomic era's legacy has continued to destroy minds and lives.

Robert Greer

Set in contemporary times, Astride a Pink Horse follows Bernadette, Cozy, and Cozy's eccentric boss Freddie Dames as they match wits with a gallery of unforgettable murder suspects: a powerful, politically connected cattle rancher, long bitter over government seizure of his land for defense purposes and the expulsion of his son from the U.S. Air Force Academy; a declining 76-year-old WWII-era Japanese internment camp victim and her unstable math professor nephew; an idealistic lifelong nuclear arms protestor; and a civilian Air Force contractor with a 20-year-old grudge against the murder victim. Do three amateur detectives stand a chance against these characters and the conspiracy that may be behind it all?

Robert Greer's trademark mix of vivid eccentrics, surprising plot twists, and political edge makes this one of his most memorable thrillers.

Nancy Curtis featured in spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine

The spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine is out and it features a profile of publisher Nancy Curtis, recipient of a 2010 Governor's Arts Award. It was written by Saratoga writer Lori Van Pelt, winner of a 2010 creative writing fellowship in poetry from the Wyoming Arts Council. One astonishing fact from the article: Nancy was a founding member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., and WyoPoets, both of Wyoming's statewide writing groups (WyoPoets holds its annual meeting this weekend in Casper). She's also published three of Lori's books, and books by many other state and regional writers. Get more info at www.highplainspress.com

Rocky Mountain Land Library praises a classic book -- "Sheepwagon: Home on the Range"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library blog waxed eloquently about two Wyomingites in an 11/28 post: 

In 2001, a wonderful Wyoming publisher, High Plains Press, published one of the Land Library’s favorite books, Sheepwagon: Home on the Range. Author Nancy Weidel offered one crisp, concise reason for our admiration: “The sheepwagon is a marvel of practicality and efficiency.”

But there’s more reasons to love this book, with its stories, photographs, and sensitive appreciation for hard lives lived in a starkly beautiful land. This book makes clear that the sheepwagon provided both a bit of warmth, and a touch of home. Weidel: “Designed to provide shelter and heat, mobility, and storage, the sheepwagon was the ideal home for the herder….It could easily be moved by two horses, a most important feature.”

Yes, as you can see, every inch counted, but space also needed to be found for the unexpected. Some sheepwagons had side boxes that “came in handy during lambing, when a weak newborn might be placed there overnight to be revived by the heat of the wagon stove.”

Nancy Weidel is wyomingarts' colleague within the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. She is senior historic preservation specialist at SHPO. Nancy Curtis runs High Plains Press out of her ranch near Glendo. Nancy is a long-time supporter of the state's writers and the statewide writers organization, Wyoming Writers, Inc.

W.C. Jameson to sign books and sing songs this weekend in Wheatland and Glendo

News from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press:

Remember if you are going to be in the Wheatland area today (Saturday, noon-3 p.m., Book Nook) or the Glendo area tomorrow (Sunday, 3-5 p.m., Micke's), that W.C. Jameson will be signing his new book and performing live music. Jameson has sung with Willie and Waylon as well as being a nationally renowned treasure hunter. Ya'll come!

Gallery Walk in Wheatland on Nov. 18

From photographer Victoria Bennett Beyer in Wheatland:

Meet the people behind some of the best art in Platte County during Wheatland's Gallery Walk, on Thursday, Nov. 18, from 5-8 p.m. There will be refreshments at each of the three stops:

Gilchrist Gallery - 867 Gilchrist Street (shown in photo above)
http://www.gilchristgallery.blogspot.com/

This co-op is home to 16 local artists who specialize in a variety media, from oil and acrylic and watercolor painting to photography to glass art and traditional tole painting. During the holiday season it will also be a great place to find craft items and affordable gifts.

Wyoming Trails Gallery - 1004 16th Street
http://www.wyomingtrailsgallery.com/
You'll need to look closely to see all the items in this gallery, as proprietor Barbara Schaffner has covered every inch of it in quality art. In addition to paintings, you'll find fine jewelry and pottery.

Mark Koons Woodworking - 802 14th Street
http://www.markkoons.com/
Master craftsman Mark Koons (shown in photo) will have his workshop open to the public where you can see his current projects. He will also have discouted work displayed in the windows of the Dance Wyoming Studio (863 Gilchrist Street, two doors down from Gilchrist Gallery). Mr. Koons is offering a 30% discount on these pieces during the Gallery Walk.

For more info on Victoria's work, go to:
Main Site: http://victoriabennettbeyer.com/
Blog: http://victoriabennettbeyer.blogspot.com/  
Photography Shop: http://milemarker.etsy.com/  

Author Diana Kouris earns laurels for her High Plains Press book

This comes from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press in Glendo: Diana Kouris (left), author of Riding the Edge of an Era, has been doing High Plains Press proud. She was a finalist for both the Zonta Best Woman Writer Award at the Billings Book Festival and the Willa Award which was presented in Wickenburg, Arizona. Diana and I went to both events and had a great time. My friend and former co-editor Linda Hasselstrom (right) traveled with us and came home with the top award at both events. Here we are.

Robert Greer launches new CJ Floyd novel with signings in Denver and Wheatland

Platte County author Robert Greer has a new book featuring Denver African-American bailbondsman/detective CJ Floyd. Entitled First of State, it's a prequel to Robert's seven other CJ Floyd mysteries, set in 1971 after CJ returns from Vietnam and is learning the bail bond business from his uncle. Much of the action takes place in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood.

Robert Greer will discuss First of State in Denver at the Tattered Cover (Colfax) on Thursday, October 21, 7 p.m., and at Murder By The Book on Tuesday, October 26, 5:30 p.m.; and in Wyoming at The Wheatland Mercantile Book Nook on Friday, November 12, 6 p.m.

Great review of the book by Jenny Shank at New West. Read it at
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/first_of_state_shows_denver_pi_cj_floyd_earning_his_stripes/C39/L39/

Photo of the Week: Victoria Bennett Beyer

This photo is by Victoria Bennett Beyer of Wheatland is just one selection in her 2010 update to the Wyoming Arts Council Artist Image Registry. The AIR is open to visual artists living in Wyoming. For more info, contact Michael Shay at the WAC at 307-777-5234.

Did You Hear about the Morgans' books -- they come from Glendo's High Plains Press

Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press sends info about her "Add a caption" contest:

Help! Help! This is a frame from the movie Did You Hear About the Morgans with Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sam Elliott, and Mary Steenburgen. The production company bought High Plains Press books for set decoration and here are Sam and Mary with High Plains Press books on their bedside tables. I want to use this shot in publicity like companies do when Lindsey Lohan wears their jewelry. I need a caption. Like "High Plains Press is in bed with Sam Elliott." But better.

We'll give a copy of each of the two books you see in the photo to the person who comes up with the winning caption.

Go to the HPP Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glendo-WY/High-Plains-Press/134238003265130

ANG's 67th Army Band moves into renovated facility

From an AP story:

The Wyoming Army National Guard's 67th Army Band has moved into a remodeled armory in Wheatland that provides many features of a proper band hall.

The remodeled facility opened this month after a yearlong, $2.2 million renovation.

Members of the band say the new space is a significant improvement over the gym they formerly used for rehearsal in Wheatland and the garage they used in Casper while the renovation was taking place.

The new armory includes storage space, individual practice rooms, and separate practice rooms for the concert band and rock band. The rehearsal areas are surrounded by soundproof walls.

The renovation also added a parade field for marching and drilling exercises.

FMI: http://bands.army.mil/bands/ng/default.asp?UNITNAME=67AB

Victoria Bennett Beyer's "Wyoming" collection photos at Coal Creek Coffee

Wheatland photographer Victoria Bennett Beyer has several photographs from her "Wyoming" collection on display at Coal Creek Coffee (the downtown location) in Laramie for the month of June. Photos include landscapes and livestock portraits taken through the state.

Fabian and Talbot sign books at State Museum

SPCR press release:

Two Wyoming authors, Linda Graves Fabian and Starley Talbot, will be at the Wyoming State Museum, Wednesday, June 9, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m., to sign their new books, “Douglas,” and “Fort Laramie,” respectively.

“Douglas,” by Graves Fabian and Carol Price Tripp, features a series of historical photographs chronicling the growth of the east-central Wyoming town. The photographs were provided through the generosity of Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum Executive Director Arlene Ekland-Earnst.

“Fort Laramie,” by Talbot, features historical photographs of one of the most important frontier outposts of the American West. These photographs are from the Fort Laramie National Historic Sites, state and national archives and the author, Talbot.

Both books are part of the Images of America series, which celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stores from the past that shape the character of the community today.

FMI: 307-777-7022.

Free public arts reception May 20 in Wheatland

Meet members of the Wyoming Arts Councill board and staff at a free reception for the Wheatland community on Thursday, May 20, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Linda and Joe Fabian’s Dance Wyoming studio, 861 Gilchrist in downtown Wheatland.

The reception is being held in conjunction with the Arts Council's May 20-21 quarterly board meeting at the Platte Valley Bank in Wheatland.

FMI: Call the WAC in Cheyenne at 777-7742.

Arts Council holds quarterly board meeting May 20-21 in Wheatland

Public invited to attend Wyoming Arts Council Board events May 20-21 in Wheatland

The Wyoming Arts Council will hold its quarterly board meeting in Wheatland May 20-21.

The meeting will be held at the Platte Valley Bank, 200 16th Street, Wheatland. Agenda items include the decisions on FY11 Grants to Organizations, Arts Education Biennial and Operating Support grants, review of WAC budgets, long-range planning, schedules for the next Governor’s Arts Awards, and advocacy issues.

The board invites individuals and organizational representatives to attend any part of the meeting to observe the board process, and to address the board during the public comment session beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Comments about the agency's policies, funding priorities, on-line granting system, and other arts-related topics are welcomed. For a detailed agenda, please contact the Wyoming Arts Council office at 307-777-7742.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s session, a public reception for members of the community will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. at Linda and Joe Fabian’s Dance Wyoming studio, 861 Gilchrist in downtown Wheatland

The mission of the Wyoming Arts Council is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Wyoming by providing resources to sustain, promote and cultivate the arts.

FMI: Camellia El-Antably, WAC, 307-777-7742 or celant@state.wy.us.